They all laughed, while Sweet Bird blushed and covered her face.
“And you were completely unwilling, I suppose,” Abbie answered her son.
“Of course! I told her she was too young for me.”
Abbie folded her arms as they all laughed again. “You forget how well I understand Indian men,” she answered. “Most of the ones I remember had no problem taking young wives.”
Abbie’s heart pained her, so full of love and happiness was it, at the same time breaking from the knowledge of the real reason for her son’s presence. They all climbed back into the wagons and headed to Margaret and Morgan’s house, where screams of joy were mixed with tears and laughter as Margaret greeted her brothers and their families. Wolf’s Blood was astounded at the home his nephew, Zeke, had built for his parents.
“For so long I have lived far from all civilization,” he said, he and Sweet Bird gawking at the grand chandelier in the two-story entranceway, the polished floors and velvet rugs and furnishings. So, Zeke Brown truly was a very rich man! For some time they all sat and talked, and Wolf’s Blood learned of what Zeke had been through with Georgeanne’s father. Now he owned all the man’s land. How fitting! It made Wolf’s Blood proud. “If only my own father could see this!” he said, gazing around the lovely parlor.
“I think he knows everything and is watching,” Morgan told him.
Wolf’s Blood nodded, astounded at how his sister and Morgan had aged, both of them gray now. Still, Margaret had a lingering beauty that came not just from her looks and the way she carried herself straight and proud; it came from a strength that showed in her dark eyes.
So much to tell. They were joined by Nathan and Susan and their children, as well as Lance. The talk ran past suppertime. Finally Margaret left to prepare something to eat, and still they talked, filling Wolf’s Blood in on the ages of all the grandchildren, what they were doing. Wolf’s Blood’s heart nearly burst with pride when he heard about the lawsuit Hawk had won against the city of Denver on behalf of Arianne Ralston.
“No one thought he’d do it,” Ellen said, “but he did. He’s quite the famous lawyer there now.”
Wolf’s Blood breathed deeply with pride. “I can hardly wait to see my son again.” He looked at his mother. “I remember Arianne. She was just a young girl with a crush on Hawk the last time I saw her.”
Abbie nodded. “She was married to Edward Ralston when they met again. Then Edward was murdered.” She sobered. “You should know that the two of them fell in love over the several months it took for the lawsuit to be completed. But once it was over, Arianne left for Ohio. She felt it was wrong for her to live her life with an Indian, for her little girl to have to put up with the remarks that might be made. Hawk wants to live on an Indian reservation and act as an attorney for the Indians; Arianne didn’t think she could live that way. It hurt Hawk deeply.”
Wolf’s Blood frowned, turning to look at Sweet Bird. “So, my son still has not taken a woman to his side,” he said, looking back at his mother.
Abbie found the remark curious, considering the way he’d looked at Sweet Bird first. What did this son of hers have in mind? She knew the spirit of the Indian man well, and relatives were expected to care for each other. A brother often took the wife of a dead brother into his tipi to care for her and provide for her children. Had he brought Sweet Bird here to find a man to take care of her? His son? She smiled at how simple and right that would seem to Wolf’s Blood … but certainly not to Hawk, who in these last years had lived in a world far different from his father’s. Perhaps she was wrong in her suspicions, but either way, it was a matter to be settled between Wolf’s Blood and Hawk.
They talked about everything but the real reason Wolf’s Blood had come. Jason’s and Ellen’s laughter did not quite ring true, and Sweet Bird looked ready to cry. Abbie suspected it was from more than the fact that she was among strangers, far from the only home she had ever known. She was losing her husband, and she well knew it, just as Margaret and Jason and Ellen knew they were losing a brother.
They ate, talked more. Lance and Daniel went off to the stables together to bed down horses, and Susan went to her and Nathan’s wing of the house to put their children to sleep. Wolf’s Blood’s and Jason’s sleepy children were shown to rooms upstairs and put to bed. Sweet Bird stayed to sleep with Little Eagle and Laughing Turtle so they would not be afraid, and Wolf’s Blood, Ellen, Margaret, Morgan, Jason, Louellen, Nathan, and Abbie retired to the parlor, where their smiles faded and the atmosphere grew more somber.
“Sweet Bird’s Christian name is Elizabeth,” Wolf’s Blood told them, “and our children’s Christian names are Joseph and Sarah. I myself have never taken the Christian religion, but Elizabeth has, just as you did, Mother, while Father continued to pray to the Great spirit Maheo.”
Abbie nodded. “You might as well tell us, son, why you are really here. You always said you would not die a crippled old man, as your father would not. You brought Elizabeth and your children here so they would always be cared for. I know in my heart you have decided to die a warrior’s death. How do you plan to do this?”
The room was silent, and Margaret looked away, struggling not to weep openly. Her brother had been through so much sorrow in his life. It was Wolf’s Blood who was with his own father when Zeke died, and who had lost the first girl he’d ever loved as well as two wives to white men’s bullets. He had lived the warrior’s life, yet he’d also seen the end of the Indian way.
As Wolf’s Blood rose, everyone could see him wince with pain. He still looked strong and was handsome for his age, but he walked slowly to the marble fireplace. “I had Hal send for Hawk and Iris, and for Jeremy,” he told them. “I want to meet Iris’s husband and see by his eyes that he is a good man.” He grinned slyly, glancing at his mother. “Hawk and Iris’s mother was Apache, remember. Down there I learned much hatred for Mexicans. Often the Apache stole Mexican women, or sometimes the other way around. I find some humor in my daughter marrying a Mexican man, but I am sure he is a good man or Hawk would not have allowed it.”
Abbie smiled. “He is a very good man, and he does well. Iris is living quite comfortably.”
Wolf’s Blood nodded. “Good.” He sighed. “I also need to talk to my brother and my son before I do what I must do. It is better you do not ask me what that is. I can only tell you now that I will give myself up in Denver. I will let Hawk take care of it. They will take me to Cheyenne, I suppose, for trial.”
Abbie frowned. “Wolf’s Blood, if you do that you could be hanged. That is the last way any Indian wants to die. I wouldn’t allow it! I’d shoot you myself first!” she exclaimed.
Wolf’s Blood saw the terror and pain in her eyes. “I will not let myself hang. I am giving myself up because in that way I can draw attention to the hatred and misunderstanding that surrounded Jennifer’s death. Joshua can come with us to Cheyenne. He will print the truth. I want the whole story told—why I did what I did—the useless way Jennifer died. Once that is done, I will choose my time.”
“But … Hawk might be able to have you acquitted,” Ellen told him. “Then you would be free. No violence would be necessary.”
Wolf’s Blood shook his head. “My son is good at what he does, I am sure, but he is not that good. It has been twelve years since it happened, but there will be people who remember I went after two other men who had fired no shots. I not only killed them, I took their scalps.”
Morgan frowned and shook his head in wonder.
“Few white men would get away with such a thing, let alone an Indian,” Wolf’s Blood continued. “And it was white men I killed. There is no doubt in my mind how a hearing would go. But at least I will have my say.” He walked over to Ellen, showing her his half-crippled hands. “Do you see this? I have no desire to be set free, my sister. My freedom can come only in death. I am sorry it must be this way, but if you truly love me, you will understand and accept what I must do.” He turned to the others. “There are certain
things I must talk about with Hawk first. I will stay here until he comes, then spend a few more days with my family …” He looked at Abbie. “Then it will be done.” He held his chin a little higher, breathing deeper. “Be happy for me, my brothers and sisters. The summer sun is warm, and when it is warm and dry, I am not in so much pain. This is a good time to die, is it not, with the sun shining upon me? And outside, out there somewhere, the eagle waits for me. It sings its death song, calling me. I will be with my father again, and with Swift Arrow, and we will ride free in a land where there are many buffalo, and all the loved ones who have gone before us will be with us again.” He looked proudly at his mother. “You understand. You long to go there yourself.”
Abbie ached with emotion. Wolf’s Blood’s dark eyes captured hers, and she slowly rose. “Yes,” she answered quietly.
Wolf’s Blood nodded. “Your children and grandchildren need you a little while longer. But someone else needs you also, and when you go to him, it will be the right time.”
Abbie could not speak. Only Wolf’s Blood fully understood just how deeply she had loved his father. She walked closer and embraced him, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
“Mother, my mother,” he said softly. “So much sorrow you have known. You knew how it would be from that first day you saw my father, yet you took the chance. There is no other woman like Abigail Monroe.”
Abbie clung to him, weeping. “Oh, there are many, son,” she finally answered through tears. “Your sister Margaret. Georgeanne, the fine woman who married young Zeke.” She pulled away. “Your own Sweet Bird. Surely she knew when she married you that she would never grow old with you. It took great courage for her to do what she did.” She wiped at her tears. “You should go to her. She must feel so alone and afraid. We will help her all we can, and we will love her.”
Wolf’s Blood blinked back his own tears. “I knew that you would. But it is possible she will not always have to stay here. You will understand when the time comes. For now I am very tired. I will do as you say and go to her.” He looked at Margaret. “Which room is it?”
She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “Go up the stairs, if it isn’t too painful for you to climb them. It’s the third door on the right.” She rose and embraced him. “I love you, Wolf’s Blood. I was always so proud of you.”
“And I have always been proud of you, of all in my family, even Jeremy. He has done so much for my children.”
“He’s helped all of us in one way or another,” Abbie said.
Wolf’s Blood embraced each person in the room, then turned to all of them. “I go to my family now. All of you should also rest, and do not be sad. Not for me. Only be sad if I should die of this ugly disease instead of dying with honor.”
He turned and left them, and they all stood there looking at each other, not a dry eye in the room. “He’s really going to do it, isn’t he?” Ellen asked her mother. “We can’t let him, Mother. The authorities don’t even know he’s here. Why can’t he just stay here? We can take care of him if he gets too crippled to walk. I’d come from Pueblo and help as often as I could.”
Abbie smiled in spite of her tears. “I am sure you would, Ellen, but you know how it was for Zeke. Wolf’s Blood is just like him. Can you really see him dying that way, all crippled up in a wheelchair or in bed? Don’t you understand what that would do to his pride?”
Ellen brushed tears from her cheeks with a shaking hand. “I just keep hoping he’ll change his mind.”
“A Monroe? Change his mind once it’s made up? Ellen, I thought you knew this family better than that.” Oh, how she wanted to fall to the floor and weep. Her son! Her precious firstborn! But her children needed her to be strong now, and Wolf’s’ Blood needed her to understand. “He is right, Ellen. His only freedom will come with death. We have to sit back and let him do what he must, and be happy for him. He needs our understanding and support. We have him for a little while yet. Let’s just enjoy that much and try not to think too far ahead. Hawk and Jeremy will come soon. We can at least have one more family reunion. It’s been twelve years since the last one. Sweet Bird will meet the rest of the family.” She thought again of Wolf’s Blood’s remark about Hawk, the way he had looked at Sweet Bird when he’d made it.
Hawk wearily stepped down from the carriage. He’d spent the last two days in court in Fort Collins, defending a Chinaman accused of theft. He’d managed to get the poor man acquitted, and he was glad; but the strain of the case and of having to travel back and forth had taken their toll. He was glad it was dark enough that no one would notice his wrinkled suit and the shirt open halfway down his chest because of the heat. He paid the driver of the buggy that had brought him from the railroad station and picked up his leather bag, then walked the hedge-lined sidewalk to the front porch of his small but elegant home. Only then did he realize someone was sitting in the swing on his front porch.
“Jeremy! What are you doing here at this hour!”
“Your office said you’d be home about now. How did it go?”
“I got the man off.” Hawk frowned, noticing the strained look on his uncle’s face. “What is it! Is it Grandma?”
Jeremy sighed and rose, shaking his head. “No. It’s Wolf’s Blood. Your father is home—at the ranch. He wants to see both of us. I don’t like the sound of it, Hawk. Sweet Bird’s letters have told us his arthritis is getting worse. You know how like your grandfather he is.”
Hawk felt the remaining energy go out of him, and he set down his bag. “Damn!” he muttered. He’d wanted so badly to see his father once more, but not under these circumstances. There was only one reason Wolf’s Blood would finally come back to the land where he was still a wanted man.
Twenty-five
The family was together again, but with many new faces, family members who were not present at the original reunion: Sweet Bird, Little Eagle, Laughing Turtle; Louellen, Jonathan, Marian, James; Lillian’s fiancé, Matt Wilkerson, a boot- and saddle-maker; Nathan’s wife Susan and their family; Raphael, Miguel, Julio and Eduardo; Georgeanne, with her and Zeke’s two sons, Peter and Jason. New faces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, new generations to take the place of the old.
Abbie thought how joyous the occasion could still be if not for the cloud hanging over Wolf’s Blood’s head. Still, being Monroes, everyone put up a good front, deciding that nothing should detract from their pleasure in having the family together again, and all could feel the spiritual presences of their uncles, Dan and Swift Arrow; the more powerful presence of Zeke Monroe. Abbie could see all her children and grandchildren had Zeke’s stubborn strength, his smile, his courage. They were survivors.
Other than a tearful reunion between Hawk and his father, and between Jeremy and Wolf’s Blood, nothing more had been said yet about why Wolf’s Blood was here. For a few days he wanted only family togetherness, and Abbie suspected there was something else he wanted from Hawk besides taking him to Denver to turn himself in. He seemed to constantly be finding ways to bring Sweet Bird and Hawk together, making them sit beside each other at the supper table, insisting Hawk spend time with his new little brother and sister and get to know Sweet Bird better, since he wanted Hawk to help care for his family in case something happened to him. Abbie suspected Wolf’s Blood meant more than monetary support and an older brother’s guidance for his children. Hawk did not seem to understand yet what his father was after, but there was no doubt in Abbie’s mind that her grandson did appreciate Sweet Bird’s gracious beauty and gentle personality. He probably loved her simply because she loved Wolf’s Blood and had given his father some bit of happiness in these last years.
This morning Wolf’s Blood had insisted Hawk take Sweet Bird and the children on a ride around the perimeter of the old, original ranch, even though Hawk was not even sure himself of just what the boundaries were. He had not been raised here as Wolf’s Blood had, but Wolf’s Blood told him the landmarks to look for, then asked him to tell Sweet Bird some stories about the f
amily, about his grandfather and grandmother.
The younger children played, the older boys helped Morgan with chores, and the women were in the house discussing what to prepare for lunch. Abbie watched Wolf’s Blood strain to lift his son onto a horse in front of Hawk, his daughter onto a horse in front of Sweet Bird, who today had decided to wear an Indian tunic rather than a white woman’s dress. The tunic pulled up slightly when she straddled her horse, revealing her tawny, slender thighs. Abbie almost laughed, guessing Wolf’s Blood had asked her to wear the tunic. He said something more to Hawk, then smacked the horses and sent them on their way. Abbie stood on the porch and waited, noticing her son watched his wife and his son for a very long time, until they disappeared over a hill. When he turned and headed back to the house, Abbie greeted him with folded arms.
“You should have gone with them,” she suggested. “You know more about this place than Hawk does.” She could see the hurt behind the twinkle in his dark eyes.
“I have too many aches and pains now. Riding is hard for me.”
“Oh? You were always an even better rider than your own father. I hardly think you would allow a few aches and pains to keep you off a horse’s back. You are the one who should be off riding with your wife, considering that the two of you probably don’t have much time left together.”
He watched her closely, then smiled sadly. “You have always been too smart for me, Mother. Father could never hide anything from you, and neither can I.” As he started inside, Abbie grasped his arm.
“You can’t force love, Wolf’s Blood.”
He turned and looked to the hill over which his son and wife had disappeared. “I know Sweet Bird. And I know my son. I won’t have to force anything. It will happen naturally.” He met her eyes. “Did you see how he looked this morning, his hair hanging loose? He feels very Indian today, I think. I remember when I was like that, strong and sure and handsome. That is the kind of husband my Sweet Bird should have, not a crippled old man.” He sighed. “She is a good, good woman. Hawk will see that.” He put a hand over his mother’s. “When my father died, did you not marry his brother?”
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